• 12–18 sponge fingers
• 2 oz. (60 g.) pistachios, almonds or walnuts
• ½ oz. (15 g.) gelatine
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 oz. (30 g.) sugar
• 1 pint (6 dl.) double cream vanilla essence
• 12 crystallized cherries
• 12 small pieces of angelica

Line a straight-sided round dish with the sponge fingers (casino fingers are the best). Sprinkle chopped nuts thickly over the bottom. Melt the gelatine in 1 tablespoon water, add the remainder and stir over the heat until it is thoroughly dissolved. Remove from the heat and add sugar. Whip ¾ pint (4½ dl.) cream stiffly, flavour it with a few drops of vanilla essence and stir into the gelatine mixture. Stir until nearly set, then carefully pour into the biscuit-lined mould. Allow to set, then turn out. Decorate with ¼ pint (1½ dl.) of plain whipped cream and crystallized cherries and angelica.

A solid syllabub or fruit-flavoured cream may be used as a change from the vanilla; or any fruit pureée, to which gelatine is added and into which cream is stirred.